Pirate Amnesty Sale

Lately people have been inquiring about the status of Sonorasaurus for the iPhone and why it has not been updated for a long time and if we will be able to bring in the new features they desire.

A bit of history on Sonorasaurus – it was the second app our studio created. The project began because we wanted to create something interesting for the iPhone that could appeal to DJs in different ways. For those familiar with DJing it would be a great option in case their equipment failed. For those new to DJing it could be a way to experience the art form through emerging yet accessible technology.

After Sonorasaurus’ debut it was promptly pirated. Real sales for Sonorasaurus were pitiful and have remained so. After over a year of being available, units sold are still less than 1,000. This is in direct contrast to the number of pirated copies, at last count close to 200,000 before I became too disheartened to continue to keep a tally. Of course piracy is one of the realities of the world, but the degree we have experienced is constantly threatening to shut our doors.

Many people may have been thinking that we just lost interest in the iPhone version because of the added capabilities of the iPad and the dazzle of a new platform. The truth is we have wanted to work on Sonorasaurus. A lot. But frankly we cannot afford to work on it given our limited resources. Pajamahouse is a very very small studio.

Great things are planned for Sonorasaurus and Sonorasaurus Rex. We want to be able to bring them to you and at a much quicker rate. We have also been inspired by what Amanita did back in August with Machinarium.

So we are putting Sonorasaurus on sale for a while. If we get a good enough response we can move ahead with the updates we have planned and bring Sonorasaurus for iPhone up to date – starting with Retina Display and iPod Library Access. You can get the app for cheap now and the updates later for free.

Even if only 10% of the pirates pick up the app it will make a difference.

Thank you very much for the initiative! I was surprised when I openend my Wishlist this morning, and after reading the blog I decided to buy Sonorasaurus Rex.

I think iOS is really changing the way people buy software, along with other channels like Valve’s Steam. Last christmas I’ve seen people who would otherwise never buy software spend hundreds on Steam and AppStore. With lower prices casual users can buy the apps and games too, and since the store policy is transparent (70% to devs) we know our money is going to the ones who really worked hard.

I feel sorry reading about piracy copies! You did a fantastic job with sonorasaurus rex, i don’t want to miss it again! It made my life easier! I hope we’ll see more innovative apps from pajamahouse studios in the future! I have an eye on you! +greetings from germany!

I’m sorry to hear about how many pirate copies there are relative to the paid copies.

I used Sonorasaurus to DJ at a friend’s party last month and it was really good. I’ve shown it to several people since to say what is possible with the iphone. I just upgraded to a different iphone and was interested to see if there was an update for the Retina display – I hope you are able to make an update since I’d definitely like to continue with Sonorasaurus. Is it possible to add some licencing, or is it too late now there’s so many pirate versions around?

I’ve just bought your ipad app and am enjoying it greatly. As a software developer myself (albeit mostly web based) I’d thought I’d add some ideas with regards to software piracy and ensuring you maximise profitability of time spent developing.
– you could use anti piracy systems e.g http://www.cocoanetics.com/anticrack/
– in app paid upgrades
– in app feature restriction unlocked by unique personal registration via the web (think of steam and how apps like mixedinkey have a web based component)
– same registration adds value through access to extra online content

Also remember that most pirated copies are used by people that only want a trial or are hoarders, they wouldn’t have bought it anyway so the connection between numbers of pirated copies and lost revenue isn’t a straight forward relationship.

Some ideas for web based addon features:
– when recording a mix, also record the performance metadata (fader moves, positions, levels etc related to time) these can then be replayed/transferred to another user or sent to the web along with the recorded mix to create an animated playback
– soundcloud connectivity. upload to soundcloud with added ‘recorded by sonorasaurus rex’ info – good promotion for yourselves
– broadcast – encode to mp3 and send to shoutcast or other streaming service (ustream?) again with added metadata to promote sonorasaurus